It’s Our Money, too- Time for a
Change
For more than two years the North Carolina
Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform has pushed for
increased openness in the legislative procedure, especially
the budget process. We have made some progress and the NC General
assembly has taken some positive steps. However, the current
session highlights the need for greater openness and transparency
and for making additional improvements in the budget process.
We believe these improvements are in the best interest of continuing
to restore public trust in government.
We firmly believe that there is a better way. The process should
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Be more open and accountable
with decisions made in public
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Operate within a framework
with an organized procedure, time frames and deadlines
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Contain a prohibition against
non-money items or special provisions in the budget
-
Allow legislators three
days to review the budget after it is unveiled
-
Make all budget information
available via the internet as it is printed
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Copies of any proposed budgets
from the Governor’s office or the State budget office
or departments must be available at least twenty four hours
before they are presented to the appropriations or finance
committees
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Make all information available
to legislators and legislative staff on the internal computer
system available to the public on the internet
-
Have at least twenty four
hours for review of any proposed committee substitute by both
legislators and the public prior to being discussed in a committee
or a sub-committee meeting,
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All committee or subcommittee
meetings must be announced to members, staff, and public at
least 24 hours in advance of the meeting
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All meetings must be held
in meeting rooms in the Legislative Building or Legislative
Office Building – not around a members desk, in their
office or in a hallway
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All Finance or Appropriations
Committee, subcommittee or Conference meetings must be available
to the public via streaming and then available via real time
audio and television broadcast once the systems are established
at the General Assembly.
If the North Carolina General Assembly wants to continue to
enjoy the confidence and support of our citizens, then it
must open up this critical process and create a budget that
truly belongs to the people of North Carolina. In the May
6th primary, North Carolinians proved that they are more than
willing to participate in our government if they believe in
it and if given a chance. Now is the time to give them that
chance – make the budget process something that is open
to all citizens.
What you can do
